Nycterent
by MaudlinFlowers
Summary: Nothing is quite as beautiful as someone who has survived losing everything & still has a tender heart. Frank Castle, presumed dead, is now trying to start a new life as Pete Castiglione. Darcy Finch is a young reporter working alongside Karen Page. After one accidental encounter, Darcy can't seem to stop running into the man. After Daredevil S.2, before The Punisher.
1. Chapter 1

_**October 18, 2019 EDIT - GRAMMAR ONLY**_

 _ **Hello everyone. AUTHOR'S NOTE so you can just skip down if you want...**_

 _ **I'm sure most of you are aware that Marvel's The Punisher just aired on Netflix. Jon Bernthal (my one true love) portrays Frank Castle like no other and I have been a fan of Marvel's Daredevil. Anyway, I have been writing and rewriting this for a few months but after the new series, I decided to pick it the story up again and try and align it with newly revealed information in The Punisher. I also wasn't sure whether to post the story in this category or in another...idk...yikes, this is awkward...**_

 _ **Okay for realsies this time. So I promise no major Punisher spoilers. I just want to do a follow up after Frank supposedly died and right before his solo show. If you have any thoughts, questions, or concerns just hit me up. R &R and nothing belongs to me, yadda yadda...**_

 _ **SideNote: I am one of those people who enjoy songs in fics. I feel like it sets the mood. If you don't want to listen or read it, just skip past. Y'all are smart cookies. I also swear upon ALBUS PERCIVAL WULFRIC BRIAN DUMBLEDORE'S GRAVE the author's note will never be this long again. You know how first chapters go.**_

* * *

 _"Dear Dictator"_

 _Saint Motel_

 _Everyone is gonna run away, today._

 _It's not cause what you do or what you say,_

 _It's just time to get leaving now._

 _Nobody has ever seen his face, but fear his smile._

 _I heard he'll drink your blood just for the taste, then laugh, and spit it out._

 _Everybody tends to disagree, on just how evil,_

 _A single human being should ever be, and all your bones they scream for more._

 _And at the trial, they'll be no jury, and all the dead are going to play witness._

 _It's not too late, to say you're sorry, but it's too late to truly mean it._

 _And at the trial, they'll be no jury, and all the dead are going to play witness._

 _It's not too late, to say you're sorry, but it's too late to truly mean it._

 _Everybody finally ran away, today._

 _It's cause what I do and what I say._

 _It's just time to get leaving, time to get leaving, time to get leaving now._

* * *

Darcy Finch walked aimlessly down the beach watching as seagulls ducked through the strong wind current. A storm was rolling through the city and Darcy was ready. Her poncho flapped loudly against her body. Thunder echoed across the water right as lightning lit up the dark shoreline.

She shivered as the rain began pelting down. Another clap of thunder, it was close. The ground practically shook with every bang. That was until a stray bullet flew into her thigh. Darcy landed in the muddy sand and could barely hear her screams over the loud rainfall. Her body was in shock and the freezing April monsoon wasn't helping.

What seemed like hours was only a matter of minutes. A dark figure loomed over her. Darcy couldn't see much through her swollen tear-stained eyes. Lightning lit up his silhouette, as fear filled her being. The pale skull glowed on the man's chest.

Wheezing, Darcy sat up to crawl away from the man. His hand snapped down on her shoulder and she froze with fear.

"Hold up there little miss. We need to get you taken care of," the man said gruffly.

"Please don't kill me," she cried out quickly. Darcy could barely make out his laugh and response over the rushing wind. He leaned further down over her to lift her up by the arm. Darcy cried out as her right foot met the ground.

"Easy there," he murmured into her ear.

He wrapped one of her arms behind his neck and they began hobbling to the street. The two walked past a group of dead men. There had to be at least six just bleeding out onto the pavement. Darcy swallowed thickly before moving her eyes back up, trying to focus on anything else. Once they made it to the main street which was lit up he dropped her onto a bus station bench. Before she could get a good look at him, he was already walking away.

"And you don't remember seeing anything of report?" The police officer stood over Darcy's hospital bed with a notepad in one hand and a skeptical look scrunched onto his face. She looked back at him with a shrug and continued to eat the orange jello. He sighed in agitation and left the room.

"Thank you for not saying anything about Frank," sighed Karen as she sunk back into her chair. Darcy shrugged again.

"It's not like he actually tried to kill me, and any friend of yours, I would say is a friend of mine, but we all know your track record." Darcy swallowed the citrus gelatin and went for the second cup sitting on the tray.

"So, what's the damage?" Karen stood up and came over to gaze at the thick bandage on her leg.

"No major arteries, no bone fractures. Bullet didn't splinter. If I had been standing an inch more to the left it might have only been a graze. Bullet didn't make it through all the way so they had to remove it. No cast or anything. Just this ugly band-aid. Check up is in two weeks. Any questions."

"How are, _you_ , though," Karen smiled weakly down at her.

"Honestly, I'm just really tired," Darcy smiled weakly back.

"Well, Ellison said you were good to miss this next week, so just stay home and rest up." Karen reached over and hugged the injured girl before walking out of the hospital room.

Darcy finished the last jello cup before groaning loudly. The dim hospital light flickered above her head and the hospital bed curtain swayed gently with the AC. She wanted to itch the covered patch of skin on her thigh, instead, she settled on picking the nail polish off her nails.

Eventually, a nurse came in and released Darcy to her father. He pushed the wheelchair towards their car while she held onto the new set of crutches. After helping her into the car he sighed and started the engine.

"Darcy, your mother and I are glad you are okay, but you really scared the hell out us."

"It wasn't like I was trying to join in on the gang festivities," Darcy grumbled.

"You know how we feel about when you go off on your own at night. I feel like this just proved our point even further," he sighed again. "Just take it easy when we get home. You know how your mother will be."

She studied her father while he continued to rant. He was hunched forward over the wheel. His square rimmed glasses rested high on his nose and his brows were scrunched together. Captain Desmond Finch was a tired man who worked long days and often nights at the 105th precinct in Queens.

He said it was raising six kids that made his hair turn silver. Really it was the fact that he was getting too old and work was taking its toll. His hair had mostly turned gray but there were the occasional splotches of black.

Darcy's father was one of her best friends and her role model. Being the youngest meant that she was his baby girl. Her mother was the same way. She met Desmond as they had both grown up in an Irish American neighbor as kids.

Regan Finch was a hard-headed and stern woman. It probably had to do with being a fiery redhead. She was almost as short as her temper and as loud as her personality. She was Darcy's only other friend though. She taught Darcy practically everything she knew, aside from the self-defense and gun range training from her dad. They were getting older now, and it was harder to do things with them. Alas, Darcy was the only child still living at home.

Her oldest sister, Kassidy, just had her fourth kid. Desmond Jr., DJ, a member of the coast guard, finally lost his bachelor status. Their brother, Charlie, was in the air force along with their sister, Colleen. Donny, Darcy's twin brother, was in the marine corps. They were all really close, but with being so far apart, staying in touch became more difficult every passing day.

Darcy and her father pulled into the parking garage and parked onto their level. Her dad helped her out and onto the crutches. He kept pace alongside Darcy as she hobbled into the hallway. Once they reached their door, Darcy's mother jumped out to pull her into a bone-crushing hug. She was crying and Darcy was rolling her eyes. Desmond pushed past and sat down on the couch.

"Do you know the scare you gave us?" she snapped at her daughter. Darcy shrugged and used her shoulder to push the front door closed.

"I'm sure I gave you quite a fright," Darcy muttered sarcastically.

* * *

It had been over a month and Darcy had long ago returned to work. Although she had an actual communications degree she still didn't have quite as nice of an office as Karen. That was the only resentment she held for the kind woman.

Darcy had been hired right after graduating NYU since she had held multiple internships with The Bulletin. She had a passion for writing and reporting and took over the A&E section. Marshall Riccards was her partner in crime as he was the A&E photographer.

"Hey there Darcy," Marshall rolled back in his chair and smiled broadly at her. She looked up from her laptop and turned to face him.

"What's up Marsh?"

"We got that gallery opening on Wednesday. I was wondering if you wanted to grab something to eat beforehand."

Darcy smiled faintly and went back to typing away on her computer. "Sure sounds good."

"Like a date," he trailed off. He fidgeted nervously in his chair as Darcy slowly turned back to study her partner.

"Marshall," she said quietly. "You know I don't date, and especially at work," she sighed and felt a pang of sympathy for her friend. "I just am terrible at relationships and I don't want to ruin our friendship and then have to see you every day here."

"That's fair. Well, I thought I would give it a shot," he stood up and smiled weakly at Darcy. "Well, I'm headed out for the day. I'll see you next week." Darcy nodded and waved to Marshall as he walked away with his backpack.

"Why are you always so tough on the boys here?" Karen smirked as she leaned against Darcy's desk with her arms crossed.

"I'm not tough on any of them. I just really don't want to mix work with sex and I especially don't want to date another journalist. On top of that, I just," Darcy leaned over and placed her hands on her face. "After the whole Drew thing, I don't think I'm ready to go back into it."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Still, though, you guys broke the engagement like four months ago. You can't really move on until you move past this," Karen rubbed her friend's back encouragingly.

"If you can get me a date outside of this hell hole, I'll consider it." Both Karen and Darcy laughed.

"Anyway, I'm heading out. I'll see you tomorrow for the final edit party," Karen slung her bag over her shoulder.

"The worst. Literally the worst part about this job. Working on weekends too. Why?" Darcy moaned loudly, "anyway, I'll see you tomorrow. Have a good night and be safe," Darcy watched Karen walk away before attempting to finish up her story.

Ellison walked past and gave Darcy a pep talk before handing her a coffee and sandwich from down the street. Mitchell Ellison, her editor, practically lived in their building. He was always the last one to leave and first to get there. That night Darcy thought she might rival that fact.

It was almost ten and Ellison was putting his coat on and putting files away in his office. After a few more minutes she posted the final draft on the computer. She groaned and stood to stretch. Ellison walked over and waited for her to gather her things so they could walk out together.

Darcy swiped her card and walked to her tunnel before standing to wait. She glanced down at her phone to check the time. In the corner of her eye, she saw a man sitting on the bench by the back wall. He was dressed in all black and his hood was pulled over hiding his face shrouding it in shadow. As the train started to pull up he walked over and stood by her.

Darcy glanced back to look him over. He was sporting a small beard and his hair was messy and hanging on his forehead. His eyes met hers and a strange look clouded his face. Darcy had a strange feeling about the man and one of her hands went into her bag too tightly grip the Glock.

Once the doors to the train opened, the last few people remaining filed out. The man behind her went ahead and entered the car. Darcy followed in after him and sat on the other end. Before the doors could close three other men quickly jumped in. Her grip hadn't lessened any while they sat staggered on the seats.

Darcy glanced at the man in all black that she had gotten on with. He seemed to be sitting rigidly but wasn't looking at anything in particular. Once the train really started to get moving, one of the men got up to sit closer to Darcy. She felt uneasy and scooted closer to the window.

The man attempted to make conversation getting closer with every passing moment. Darcy gave vague and short answers to appear polite. Then the lights flashed off on the train and the men pounced on Darcy. A hand was slapped over her mouth and her gun and purse were pulled away from her. The train had stopped and the doors were open. They were trying to drag her off the car.

Darcy could barely see what was happening and she was desperate to fight back. They were just too strong and it seemed like all her training instilled by her father went up in flames. She thrashed and screamed into one of the man's hands. Trying to bite down but he was wearing padding or something to protect himself.

Then one of the men holding onto her let out a grunt and suddenly the lights flickered back on. Darcy, her assailants, and the man in black weren't on the train as it pulled away. They all stood staring at each other under the red glare of an exit sign a few feet away. One of the men was lying now on the ground, face first, not moving. She had a feeling he was dead.

A shout echoed through the tunnel and the two men charged their new opponent. The man's hood had fallen off and Darcy squinted to see his face, but it was too dark. She gasped when she saw that he was holding a knife, the metal reflected the light as it slashed one of the attackers across the throat. The man went for the last man standing. Darcy didn't see what was happening, her eyes were fixed on the man who had slumped to his knees. His eyes were wide, he was holding his neck as if it would help. This man was choking on his own blood.

A loud crack echoed and the other man fell over. The man in black had killed all three of the men. He was clutching his bloody weapon and walking over to Darcy at a slow pace. He crouched down and looked at her. She was shaking and staring at the blood beginning to pool. The man sighed, wiped the knife in the dirt, then on his pants, then he tucked it away.

"Murder definitely wasn't on today's agenda," he muttered.

Darcy blinked and then closed her eyes and scrunched her brow. Sarcastic confusion is the only way to describe her expression. "Generally, it's not on anyone's."

He laughed and stood up offering her a hand. "No, but it's always on mine, just wasn't supposed to be until Tuesday. We're apparently ahead of schedule."

Darcy wasn't sure if he was joking, partly, she decided. She reached up and took his hand so he could pull her up to her feet. He glanced at the bodies and shrugged before walking towards the exit sign.

"You're the Punisher aren't you? You saved me a little bit ago," Darcy hadn't moved from her spot but was now holding onto her bag that had been lying in the bloody mess.

The man stopped and glanced back at her. "Frank Castle."

"I'm Darcy Finch. Frank, why'd you save me?"

"Well, I wasn't going to just stand by and watch them kidnap and probably murder a nice young woman. Plus I had been following them before they had come down here. I figured they were going to try something. Now come on, let's get out of here."

Darcy followed Frank out of the subway tunnel and back out onto the street. They had at least another mile until they were near her neighborhood. Frank stopped and glanced back at her. Now that they were in better lighting she was able to get a better look at him. He was fairly attractive she decided.

"What was that?" Darcy stuttered, she hadn't heard a thing he had said, her cheeks flushed.

"I said, would you like me to walk you back home?" Darcy shrugged.

"If you want, it's a bit more of a walk and it's late."

"Exactly why I'm offering. What if more of those guys come looking for you?"

"Then, by all means, I'll lead the way." Darcy walked ahead of him and rubbed her face. How was she going to explain this one to her parents? "Apparently we have a mutual friend."

"Is that so?" Frank had caught up to her quick strides with ease.

"Karen made sure I didn't rat you out that first time we met," Darcy glanced at him and watched for any reaction but he seemed to just shrug it off.

"Sounds like her. How is she doing these days?" Frank then turned to watch Darcy think.

"I guess she's doing good. She had a rough patch a month ago after finding her boyfriend in bed with another woman. That didn't go over so well with her," Darcy wrapped her arms around her waist as a wind blew by.

"Damn shame. Karen deserves better. So tell me, Darcy, what are you doing in a place like this?"

"Born and raised. NYU grad and all that jazz. You?"

"I guess you could say the same," Frank shrugged. They fell back into silence. It wasn't until they reached her apartment before she said anything else.

"Thanks for uh, rescuing me again. I guess I will see you around. Don't take offense but I'd rather steer clear of you and the people you hang around with."

Frank nodded with a faint smile before turning to leave. Darcy felt that there would be no sleep for tonight.

* * *

The next morning Darcy was walking back into the office with a coffee in one hand and a bag of donuts in the other. There was a small group of people scattered about the conference room staring down at large sheets of paper. Editing Saturday, the last once-over before the paper went to print. Red ink everywhere.

"Welcome to the party," Ellison stood and took the bag from her and traded it for a pen and bundle of papers. Sitting next to Karen, Darcy began her task.

"Last night okay?" Karen whispered to Darcy without looking up.

"I ran into you know who again," she whispered back. Karen's pen froze, but she didn't look up.

"Why?" Darcy felt it was more of a statement than a question.

"I might have almost got mugged last night."

"Are you kidding me?" Karen rubbed her face and gave her friend a stern look. "Listen, Darcy, you need to be more careful. I know you aren't intentionally trying to get into trouble but he isn't good company to keep. I know I talk about him like we are friends but he is a dangerous guy if you aren't careful."

"I know. I'm not completely stupid. Honest to God, I am trying my best to keep my nose clean," Darcy swore.

"If you say so. Well, next week on Friday my friend Foggy is getting some friends together for a bar crawl. Want to be my plus one?"

"Ladies," Ellison snapped from the head of the table. "Focus, we all want to go home, so the faster we do this the faster we can do that."

"Sure. Text me the details," Darcy winked at her friend before continuing her work.

Several hours later, they were all released just around lunchtime. Darcy walked across the street to the small cafe and sat down with her father.

"We got Cujo back from the vet. They finished up the surgery so he is safe and sound back at home." Captain Finch said as he sipped the hot beverage.

Cujo was Darcy's birthday present a couple of years back. A large grey great Dane. Her favorite running partner and only other friend. After suffering a major depression episode her parents gave her the dog for emotional support.

"Damn dog sticks his nose everywhere it shouldn't be. Jesus. I still can't believe he didn't get rabies from that stupid rat. Thank God though, I don't think I could handle him dying that way. It would practically be my fault."

Her father rolled his eyes, "you are supposed to keep him on a leash for a reason. It's the law after all, though it's not your fault, Cujo would have gotten attacked by some animal at some point."

"He doesn't like leashes and when he is wearing his vest he doesn't act like an idiot. You know he never wanders off when he knows he is on duty."

"Just be more careful please," the police captain stood and put his uniform jacket and hat on. He embraced his youngest daughter before heading out. "I just remembered. Your brothers DJ and Charlie will be in town later this week so help your mother with the cooking."

Darcy smiled and waved him off. After finishing her muffin she dusted her shirt and threw the trash away. As she began walking out the door she stumbled into someone. She stood up straight quickly and began to apologize before she realized who it was.

"Are you stalking me?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Frank smirked as Darcy turned red. "I was just coming in to grab a sandwich. Calm down."

"You calm down," Darcy said stupidly not sure of what else to say, too flustered to think straight. "Stop following me."

Frank watched as she stomped outside and out into the rain.


	2. Chapter 2

**October 18, 2019 EDIT-GRAMMAR**

 _ **Hola mi amigos. Lol, fun fact, I'm actually living in Peru at the moment to teach English, terrible wifi everywhere so don't get too sad if updates aren't consistent.**_

 _ **I am a legit communication major so I live for commentary, constructive feedback, and most importantly your opinions.**_

 _ **Also, it was mentioned to me that Frank seems a little happy, too happy. For this first little bit, he is going to be kinda OOC, it's all part of the plan, you'll find out why and see what made him go all dark again. Thanks for sticking it out, I love you all!**_

 _ **R &R**_

* * *

 _" Buttercup "_

 _Hippo Campus_

 _I'll be fine on my own, she said, I don't need you inside my head_

 _(She'll be fine on her own, she'll be fine on her own)_

 _I'll be fine on my own, she said, all my love's wrapped in shades of red_

 _(She'll be fine on her own, she'll be fine on her own)_

 _No holds barred in the ring so you'll fight me_

 _Give 'em hell, give 'em teeth like you taught me_

 _Tireless mess, seeking thrills getting bitey_

 _When I'm in doubt_

 _Pudgy face kissing lace in the backseat_

 _Wrinkled toss of the coin that I can't see_

 _Don't forget I have you to be like me_

 _Where around is enough for a family_

 _I'll be fine on my own, she said, I don't need you inside my head_

 _(She'll be fine on her own, she'll be fine on her own)_

 _I'll be fine on my own, she said, all my love's wrapped in shades of red_

 _(She'll be fine on her own, she'll be fine on her own)_

 _Growing pains splaying rain on the high sea_

 _Scale a tree, snap a branch so you can't leave_

 _On the ground, lost and found, understand me_

 _Putting words in my mouth, trying to get free_

 _Solid punch kind of eyes make 'em wobbly_

 _Gothic vine growing fire in the lobby_

 _Lighten up, buttercup, get a hobby_

 _Yeah, swing, sucker, swing, finish sobbing_

 _She'll be fine on her own... she'll be fine on her own_

 _She'll be fine on her own... she'll be fine on her own_

 _She'll be fine on her own, she said_

 _She'll be fine on her own, she said_

 _She'll be fine on her own, she said_

 _She'll be fine on her own, she'll be fine on her own_

 _She'll be fine on her own, she'll be fine on her own_

 _I'll be fine, I'm alright, it's my body_

 _Gonna stick to my guns like you taught me_

 _Holy hell, I can tell that you hate me_

 _Dying moon, keep me up, keep me waiting_

 _I'll be fine, I'm alright, it's my body_

 _Gonna stick to my guns like you taught me_

 _Holy hell, I can tell that you hate me_

 _Dying moon, keep me up, keep me waiting_

* * *

The small boy clung tightly to the bundle of string-like his life depended on it. High above him, a small multicolored kite swayed in the air like a bird. Central Park was quiet as the sun began to slip under the horizon. Pinks and oranges swirled together like a watercolor painting. Turtle pond was becoming active with the nightlife. Crickets clicking and frogs chirping.

Darcy's nephew giggled as she let him hop back and forth over her body. She was stretched out on the picnic blanket watching her other nephew and niece admire their kite. Darcy's phone began buzzing and she sighed as she answered the call.

"Yeah, yeah, okay. We'll start packing it up and meet you guys there," she tossed the cell phone back onto the grass and rolled over.

Jacob giggled and rolled on top of her. Laura noticed the two and joined in on the dogpile followed by her brother Nathan who let the kite crash into the ground. The three little kids laughed as their aunt tickled them until her phone buzzed with texts from her brother. Darcy rolled her eyes and had them gather their things so they could make their way back to the street.

"Auntie Dar, can we go on the underground train?" the youngest, Jacob asked as he tugged on Darcy's pants.

"Sorry bud, I only take taxis now."

"They are called subways, you dummy," Laura snapped and was pushed back by her brother.

"You're the dummy, dummy," Jacob retorted.

"You're both dummies," concluded Nathan.

They all filed into a taxi and excitedly talked about the things they passed on their way home.

"I wanna push the buttons," Jacob and Nathan raced through the opening door and ended up smashing all the buttons on the elevator panel. Darcy rolled her eyes and smiled when Laura grabbed her free hand.

"Do you have a boyfriend Auntie Dar?" the younger girl asked innocently.

"Sorry bubs, I do not at the moment. Do you?" Laura giggled and turned pink. "Oh, so you do? What's his name?"

"His name is Garrett and he's two years older!" Nathan tattled as Jacob clung to his back. Laura folded her arms and scowled.

"Snitch!" she exclaimed and they both stuck their tongues out.

The door opened and they all marched into the apartment. Charlie and his wife looked up and smiled at their rambunctious children. DJ and his fiance were sitting across from them at the table. A board game laid out as well as an empty bottle of wine.

"How were they?" Miranda, Charlie's wife, asked. Jacob laid his head on her lap and yawned.

"Piece of cake," Darcy winked as she went to grab another bottle of wine from the pantry. "Where's ma and pa?"

"They went out to grab dinner," said DJ as he tossed the corkscrew to her.

Darcy nodded accepting his answer and joined the other adults. The children were crammed together on the couch transfixed by the television. She smiled, glad to be with her older brothers once more. As her parents came home, they all sat together to eat. Afterward, Jacob toddled over to his aunt and pulled on her sleeve.

"Can I play with your doggie?" Darcy smiled and ruffled the boy's hair before letting Cujo out of her room. The large dog bounded out and tackled the toddler. Jacob giggled and squealed as the great Dane licked his face and hands. Darcy smiled to herself before she slipped out of the house.

* * *

"What the heck are you doing?" Darcy hissed at Marshall. He stared back at her stupidly and nearby patrons of the museum stared openly. Her photography partner was holding a large bouquet of flowers.

"They're for you."

"I realized that, what for?"

"I, uh, you know, they're for you," Marshall shuffled his feet awkwardly staring down.

"Marshall, this is a fucking work thing, not a date thing. I don't know what has gotten into you these past few weeks but I will request a different partner if you don't cut this shit out. Now get rid of those so we can get on with this," Darcy didn't give him time to protest as she was already walking towards the other side of the room.

* * *

"Oh God, Karen, it's getting worse I don't know what I am going to do. He's acting like a lunatic. I might actually strangle him."

Karen smiled sympathetically at her shorter friend. The bartender walked past and refilled their glasses. Darcy sat up to down the glass. Karen sipped hers apprehensively and sighed.

"I still think you should tell Elliot. If you don't do anything actual with his advances, Marshall might do something you both regret. But what do I know, no one is in my life these days."

"Nah," Darcy swatted the air and shook her head with a lazy smile. "Just wait until this weekend, we are gonna find you a man, don't worry. You are all legs, we'll find you something good."

"I don't want a hookup, Darcy. I want a real guy, like Matt. Well, before I knew he was cheating on me, but you know what I mean. Like Drew," Karen concluded.

"No," Darcy sobered up, looking at Karen directly. "Drew and I broke up for a reason. He didn't cheat but," she paused and rubbed the back of her neck, swallowing thickly. "The real reason, I never told you, he was abusive and actually spying on my family. I don't know why are for what, but I got out of that shit real quick. My dad got us a restraining order once he found out how bad Drew was getting."

"Jesus," Karen muttered shooting back the rest of her drink. "I'm sorry Dar, I had no idea. Why didn't you tell me?"

Darcy shrugged, "I dunno. I felt embarrassed. I don't know how to explain it, but the whole thing I wanted just to kind of disappear. Swept under the rug, you know?"

Her friend nodded in understanding and hugged her. Darcy emitted a humorless laugh and wiped tears away from her eyes. They both got up and paid their bill respectively. After another hug, Darcy got into a taxi to head home.

* * *

Darcy saw an ice cream shop still open as they drove through the city. With a request, the driver pulled over and Darcy stumbled out. She grabbed her purse and walked to the back of the line. After a few minutes, there was only one more person in front of her.

"I swear to God almighty I will kill you," Darcy hissed at the man once he turned around. He shrugged and handed her an ice cream cone covered in rainbow sprinkles.

"I was here first, so I think I have a right to claim you are following me now." Frank sat down on the bench near the parking lot. He lifted his right ankle to rest on his knee. He licked the cone and grinned at the woman standing above him.

"Thanks, I guess," she huffed and plopped down next to Frank on the bench. "How'd you know I was behind you, I never saw you look back."

"I know that huff anywhere," he winked and took another lick. "Nah, I saw you in the sign's reflection and thought you needed a pick me up. Rough night?"

"You could say that." Darcy licked the cone. "Why are you so nice to me? Aren't you supposed to be a murderous vigilante?"

"What can I say, you bring out the best in me," he wiggled his brows as Darcy glowered at him, clearly not humored. "Why are you glaring at me?"

"I'm hoping you'll spontaneously combust," she retorted.

"I just bought you ice cream, I think I deserve a little love. Look, I am just watching out for you. Today was pure coincidence."

"You say that every time we 'run into each other'," Darcy made air quotes with her free hand.

"It's the honest to God's truth."

"Whatever," Darcy rolled her eyes and licked the ice cream beginning to run down the sides of the cone.

She tried examining the large man from the corner of her eye. Sweet Mary, mother of Joseph, Darcy thought. He was intimidatingly tall and muscular, probably from all the running and murdering. A physically demanding profession apparently. Darcy's phone buzzed, after checking it she stood up.

"Thanks for the uh, ice cream. I guess I'll see you around." Darcy didn't wait for a response as she went to catch another taxi.

* * *

"How was that work thing?" Charlie asked from the kitchen, he was usually always the last one awake in the house. Cujo stood next to Darcy's older brother, hoping to be given a share. To his excitement, he received a whole peanut butter cookie. He sat thumping his tail on the tile.

"Good dog you got, by the way. Jacob wouldn't leave his side the whole night." Charlie rubbed the Great Dane's head and handed him another cookie.

"Thanks and the work thing was okay I guess. I'm just glad it's over." She stole a cookie from the platter and sat down at the bar counter.

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask you about that old fiance of yours. How are things, I mean I know y'all broke up, but like have you heard from him since. Pa told me about the crazy shit that guy tried to pull."

"He's definitely out of the picture if that's what you're asking. Why are you asking?" Darcy leaned forward to grab another cookie. She looked back up at him and was taken aback by the strange look on her brother's face.

"Just wondering is all, I thought I saw him the other day. Crazy I know. Why the fuck would he be all the way down in Delaware? I just, I don't know, had me thinking about you." Charlie shrugged and began up the stairs to his bedroom. "Anyway, I was wondering if you could watch the kids again on Saturday."

"I might be a little hungover but sure." Darcy laughed and had Cujo follow her to her bedroom down the hall. Once she shut the door she flopped onto her bed. The large dog whined and jumped up next to her then laid his head on her belly. Darcy picked up her phone and dialed her friend.

"Hey Dar, I literally just saw you, what's up?" Karen yawned and sat up, she had already gotten in her nightwear and settled into bed.

"I know this is going to sound crazy, but I ran into him again. How is this even realistically possible. Are you tipping him off?"

Karen laughed on the other end, "I honestly don't know. How many times have you accidentally bumped into him? What is this, like the billionth?"

"It's the seventh actually. Speaking of which, look, I know you don't like talking about him, but if I am going to keep hanging out with this guy can you at least give me the laydown?" Darcy scratched behind Cujo's ear and held the phone between her shoulder.

"Yeah, I guess. Though I should admit that the first time you saw him when you happened to stumble upon a gang shootout or whatever. I may have tipped him off to watch out for you."

"What, why?" Darcy sat up straight and leaned forward.

"I found a weird letter on your desk one day. I know I shouldn't have opened it since it was addressed to you, but I just had this strange feeling about it. After reading it I knew you wouldn't have believed me. I asked Frank to just keep an eye out. I didn't think he'd still be watching you."

"Karen, you should have told me. I would totally have taken it seriously."

"We both know you're lying," Karen laughed. Darcy joined in then huffed. "Look, it's getting late and we gotta be up early to do write-ups. I'll see you in the a.m.."

* * *

It was Friday and Darcy was excited to finally have a fun evening and meet some new people. Little did she know how dorky said people would be. Darcy was dressed in a tight sparkly and short black dress. She had her hair braided down the side of her neck and was wearing dark makeup which she referred to as war paint.

"Why didn't you tell me this was more of a low profile thing?" Darcy asked Karen, who was still in her work clothes. Karen shrugged and downed a shot of whatever her friend had ordered them.

Foggy, a very nice and funny guy had invited three others. Everyone was very friendly and dressed in either work clothes or loungewear. They had all eyed Darcy wearily with her club get up. She felt stupid the moment she met up with Karen.

"I never said we were clubbing, you made that assumption all on your own," she laughed loudly drawing eyes to the pair.

Darcy shrunk low in her seat and placed her hands over her face.

"Come on Dar, it's fine, just drink up, I'll watch your purse if you really want to shake your tail feathers," Karen laughed again.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Darcy shot back her glass and groaned. This was going to be a long night. After twenty more minutes of sitting and talking they moved onto the next place.

"So how'dya know Karen?" Darcy slurred looking at Foggy. He grinned and wrapped his arm around both girls.

"Murder she wrote, well said actually," Foggy laughed and took a swig of the beer in front of him. "In the good ole' days I worked with my best friend at a law firm and Karen came out of nowhere actually wanting our help. It's been bliss ever since, well for her at least." Darcy grinned and leaned into his side. After a new venue, Darcy had gone up to get the drinks.

"So, Karen, this Darcy friend of yours," Foggy trailed off looking at the scantily dressed woman leaning against the bar.

"Off-limits, I promise she isn't interested." Karen giggled and winked at Darcy as she came back to sit next to Foggy. She yawned and laid her head on his shoulder. He raised his eyebrows and looked pointedly at the woman across from him. "No." Karen snapped and laughed as he pouted at her.

By the sixth bar, Foggy and the two girls were the only remaining members of their party. Foggy seemed to be doing a decent job of handling his alcohol. Karen was close behind him. Darcy, on the other hand, was wasted. She clung to Foggy, giggling and squealing with laughter any time he said something to her. Karen wasn't impressed but Foggy had never felt so proud of himself. They were in the seventh bar and Darcy decided she wanted to finally dance. It was a dimly lit and smoky bar. Loud music blasted through the speakers. Darcy was swaying back and forth until some man came up and held her waist. She pushed back into him starting to grind, assuming it was Foggy.

"Who's that?" Foggy grumbled as he was about to go join Darcy. Karen looked over her glass of water and stared dumbly at the guy dancing with her best friend.

"Uh, good question," she lied smoothly, trying to cover her shock.

The song soon changed and Darcy howled with excitement. She spun around and laced her hands behind the taller man's neck. His hands still tightly holding onto her sides. They swayed back and forth, Darcy not daring to open her eyes and ruin the moment. She always got the creepy guys, but she wanted to feel something for a change so she'd take what she could get.

The next song had Darcy turned back around once more. Her left hand was holding onto the one he had on her thigh, her right was upon his neck gripping his hair. Upon the next song, she opened her eyes wondering who had decidedly stuck it through so many dances. She turned around, his left leg between both of hers, she was pressed tight against his warm and sweaty body.

"MOTHER FUCKER!" Darcy screamed, the music drowning her voice out. She tried to pull away but was held back. "What the everloving fuck are you doing here?"

"In my defense, I got here at least two hours ago. I wasn't aware you'd be stopping in. However, once I saw you, I thought you looked lonely. I was just keeping you company," Frank grinned broadly.

Darcy had to admit he was attractive, though she was too annoyed to acknowledge her inner thoughts of him. Frank's hair was starting to get long, no longer sporting his military cut, his face keeping a dark shadow, almost entering beard territory. He had beads of sweat on his forehead and chest. His shirt clung tightly to his body revealing the muscular figure underneath.

"Damn it," she muttered shaking away her approving thoughts. "I was hoping that guy over there would have asked me."

Frank looked back at Karen and her male friend. She locked eyes with him and frowned. He looked back down at Darcy and gave a menacing smirk. Frank lowered his head so his lips brushed against her ear. He felt her go rigid in his hands.

"We both know you'd rather have me pressing up into that tight little ass of yours."

Darcy gasped and ripped out of his grasp. Beneath the sweat, he could see the blush spread like wildfire. She scowled and stomped her foot in a huff. "God damn you," she seethed. Frank laughed as she stormed away.

"I'm done, let's go home." Darcy grabbed her clutch and Karen's hand. The soberer of the two rolled her eyes and let herself get dragged out. Foggy grinned and jumped up eagerly to follow.

"Why don't we head over to my place for a nightcap," Karen suggested. "By nightcap, I mean vanilla ice cream and sprinkles."

"God yes." Darcy sighed with relief. Foggy simply nodded.

* * *

"Karen someone's at your door," Darcy said as she cleaned up the food sitting on her friend's counter. Their male counterpart had left just a few minutes prior.

"Probably Foggy, he forgets his things at my place all the time." Darcy heard the door open and a heavy sigh follow. "What are you doing here?" A harsh whisper. "You better leave before she," Karen paused as Darcy walked around the corner. "Sees you," she trailed off.

"Karen, I swear to fucking christ I'm going to kill you both."

Before Karen could stop her friend, she pounced on the man trying to strangle him. Frank caught her wrists easily and held her down. Growling like a feral cat she squirmed in his hold. Frank stepped into the small apartment and closed the door with his hip. Still holding onto the smaller woman he sighed.

"I needed to talk to you both," he said simply.

"Right now," Karen asked exasperatedly. "While she's in this state?"

"You mean, inebriated?"

"God, obviously, Frank."

Frank lifted Darcy up and over his shoulder. She continued to growl and began pounding on his back while he held her legs firmly against his chest.

"I believe she is in danger. Someone is trying to make an attempt on her life. Right before you came to that last bar I stopped a man from continuing to follower her."

"Oh Jesus, I was grinding on some bloody sweaty freak?" Darcy gave up and laid limply against Frank.

"Guess that makes you a freak too, a kinky one at that." Darcy began her pounding again.

"Listen, I'm going to get this idiot home, make sure you lock your door and windows and keep an eye out when you're with her. I'll make sure she gets back safely." Karen smiled and thanked him.

Darcy reluctantly sat in the back of a taxi with Frank. He was looking out his window not paying her any mind. After she had cussed him out for the fifth time he chose to ignore her until they got home. Darcy stared at him openly, sticking her tongue out anytime she caught his gaze in their reflection. Eventually, she yawned and leaned against his looming frame.

"I'm sorry I'm always such a bitch. You're just always around and you're so beautiful, it's confusing because you're supposed to be a bad guy, but you're nice and make sure I get home, and you bought me ice cream, and you dance sexy. I just miss Drew so much," the name turned Frank's attention back to her.

"Who is Drew?" he asked suddenly. Darcy continued rambling over him, ignoring anything he said.

"It's just that I'm bitter and complicated. It's one of my charms." Darcy sighed lazily, closing her eyes.

"I don't think you know what that word means or how to count." Frank rolled his eyes as she stuck her tongue at him again.

"You don't know how to count," Darcy snapped.

"You are so drunk."

"You're drunker."

"Darcy, shut up."


	3. Chapter 3

**October 18, 2019 EDIT-GRAMMAR**

 **Hello, my friends, I hope everyone is doing well. Christmas is almost upon us, which means I am in a constant state of bliss. For those of you who may not celebrate the holiday, cheers to you all the same.**

 **This is the chapter that is going to really kick off my story. The last two chapters were to kinda set the scene for our two peeps. Now I'm going to actually do what my summary said haha. So the timeline is going to be a little off, just date wise, too suit my purposes. It is fanfiction after all.**

 **Anyway questions, comments, concerns, I'm here for it all.**

 **R &R**

* * *

 _"Grave Digger"_

 _Matt_ Maeson

 _I can't run to you, Father_

 _I need love_

 _I can't talk to you, mother_

 _I know it's got you caught up_

 _But your sweet sinless sensation is not my style_

 _And I'm not giving up_

 _But tell me if I run away_

 _How long will I bleed?_

 _So tell me if I run away_

 _How long will I bleed?_

 _Colors blend_

 _They're all black and white_

 _Goddamnit, I cannot bend_

 _I'm all shriveled inside_

 _But your sweet sinless sensation is not my style_

 _And I'm not giving up_

 _So tell me if I run away_

 _How long will I bleed?_

 _Tell me if I run away_

 _How long will I bleed?_

 _Ain't no point in tryna picking me up when I'm down_

 _Yeah, you can stick out your hand_

 _And you can lean towards the ground_

 _I'll be tryna suckle all the liquid out the dirt_

 _Tryna catch a curve, digging my own grave_

 _Ooh mama_

 _I'll be tryna suckle all the liquid out the dirt_

 _Tryna catch a curve, digging my own grave_

 _Ooh mama_

 _But your sweet sinless sensation is not my style_

 _And I'm not giving up_

 _So tell me if I run away_

 _How long will I bleed?_

 _Tell me if I run away_

* * *

"A girl you say, that doesn't sound like you," the dark-skinned man shook his head as he moved chairs about the room. Frank stood in the doorway staring at his feet.

"It's not like that, she's just, I don't," Frank huffed, "can you just make sure she's safe?"

"Jesus, Frank, you really going to die for this?"

"They killed my family, Curtis, it's more complicated than that."

"So you keep saying," he sat down in one of the metal chairs, the joints groaning as he sunk his weight into it. "What's this girl's name, why is she so special?"

"Darcy Finch, that's all you need to know," Frank grumbled.

"So what if I decide she's something too? I may put you at a run for your money."

Frank smiled and looked up at his friend. "As much as I would like to see you try, I doubt she'd be into you."

"What makes you say that Frank?"

"Just a feeling," he shrugged and walked away.

"You better not get your ass killed," Curtis called out to the fleeting figure.

* * *

"I'm not that surprised," Darcy shook her head, looking up at her desk partner.

"You are starting to sound like you're best friends with the guy," Nicole said as Marshall wheeled his chair back to join the conversation.

"Record amount of heroin. It's going to be the drug bust of the century and the Punisher might actually get put away." Marshall smiled at the thought.

"Why are you two so excited for this guy to get taken down?"

"Who wouldn't want a murdering psychopath put away for life?" Marshall countered as Nicole raised her brow.

"Well for one, we know he won't stay in prison long, look how well it went the first time."

* * *

A few weeks prior...

"Jesus, what happened to you?" Darcy reached to touch the dark circles covering Frank's eyes, he flinched back.

"Prison break, how was your weekend?"

"Frank have you gotten medical attention for this, it looks like you had a run-in with a meat grinder. God," this time he allowed her fingers to skim the swollen bruises and raised cuts. He closed his eyes and hissed when she pressed harder on the abrasions.

"Are you okay?"

Darcy laughed at the question, "Me? Frank, stop acting stupid, here sit down."

A knock sounded on Darcy's bedroom door. They both looked over, quickly Frank slide to duck behind the side of the bed.

"Hey Dar," Charlie smiled poking his head through the doorway. "I know we've asked you a lot, but it's the last time I promise. Can you watch Jake, we are taking the older ones out to run errands before we all head out of town." Darcy shrugged, unsure of what else to do. Jacob giggled and slipped through the doorway to jump onto the bed. "Thanks, sis. We'll be back in a few."

Darcy was frozen watching as Jacob locked eyes with the man sitting at his aunt's feet. The frightening-looking man held a finger to his lips and Jacob simply nodded.

"Uh, Jacob, this is, uh, my friend, Uhm," she trailed off.

"Peter Castiglione. Call me Pete, kid." Frank went on his knees so he could lean against the bed.

"Hi-ya Mr. Pete. I'm Jacob Finch, Auntie Dar is my aunt." Jacob scooted closer to whisper in Frank's ear. "Are you auntie Dar's boyfriend?"

Darcy's face burned and she looked up at the ceiling with a groan. Frank laughed and rubbed the boy's back.

"Nah, we are just buds."

"Mr. Pete, what happened to your face? That's probably why you aren't her boyfriend, you're ugly."

Darcy hissed at Jacob and picked up the boy into her arms. "Jacob, we don't say those kinds of things to people."

Jacob squirmed trying to reach back to the bed. "But he said he's your friend, I do know him," Jacob whined.

"Darcy, it's okay." Frank took the boy from her arms and held him close to his chest. "I got into a fight, so you better not do the same or else you might look worse than me." Jacob gasped then covered his mouth to hide the giggles. "So Jacob, what grade are you in?"

Jacob took in a deep breath and opened his mouth about to release his autobiography on the older man. Darcy rolled her eyes and sat back on her bed watching the two. As Jacob continued to ramble Darcy saw Frank wink at her.

"Pete Castiglione, where'd you get that name from?" Jacob was now snoring softly in Frank's lap. Cujo snuggled up close to the boys.

"Well aside from one of the best baseball players of all time, my family's last name used to be Castiglione before they came to America."

"You're pretty good with kids, huh," Frank smiled softly looking down at Jacob.

"I was a father before this all, Frank Jr. and Lisa, they were my world."

"I'm sorry," Darcy said softly.

"Me too."

* * *

"I'm here on west 49th and 12th avenue. Just only an hour ago a ship reportedly carrying a record amount of heroin was caught in a crossfire resulting in a large explosion and multiple reported deaths. We just received word that Frank Castle aka the Punisher was here at the scene just moments before law enforcement arrived. Although nobody has been recovered, they are willing to confirm he too died in the explosion. We'll be back in just,"

Desmond turned the TV off and looked down at the sobbing girl.

"What is the matter with you, what is so important about that explosion?" Before she could answer her father, Darcy's phone began ringing.

"We are putting out a paper tomorrow morning for the drug seizure gone wrong. Get to the office now, we need every writer on deck." Elliot hung up before she could protest.

"I gotta go pa," she grabbed her coat from the rack and ran out of the apartment.

* * *

"Where's Karen, I thought you said we needed everyone for the front page change."

"She is out chasing a source for the story, just go in the conference room and start helping," Elliot rubbed his face. Darcy tried protesting but Elliot had already walked away.

* * *

Karen was growling at this point, "Frank! You do this, and you are the monster that they say you are.

Do you hear me? You do this, and I am done. That's it. You're dead to me. Do you hear me?" Karen was at a loss for how else to convince him.

Frank winced and groaned, looking at the gun locker stored away. He glanced back at the panicking Karen and shrugged. "I'm already dead," he said simply.

"Darcy," Karen said after a beat. Frank froze and slowly looked back at her.

"What did you say?"

"Darcy," she repeated louder. "If you do this Darcy will never forgive you."

"Who said I cared about what that girl thinks."

"I've seen the way you look at her, how you talk to her and treat her. It's like you forget about all this shit that's happened to you. I know you care about her."

"You don't know shit," he coughed and winced again.

"If you weren't so set on avenging your dead wife you'd realize how far you've fallen for Darcy."

Frank growled and spun around charging Karen, he stopped just before knocking her over, his breath hot and heavily blowing in her face.

"You shut the fuck up, you don't know a thing about what you're saying. I love my wife," he barked.

"Frank, she's been dead over a year, you're just chasing ghosts."

* * *

"It was the weirdest thing, I swear I saw that guy you were, oh what's his name, Dave, Richard, Daniel, Andrew I can't remember. Montana though, that's too fucking far away to be a coincidence."

"Uh huh," Darcy replied looking at her phone.

"Are you even listening to me?" Colleen asked in annoyance.

"Yeah, keep talking, I'm listening."

"You are so full of bullshit," the older sister moaned. "How's Ma and Pa?"

"They're good, I'm pretty sure we are getting down to a few months before he admits that retirement would be the better option."

"I swear that man is married to his job," Colleen sighed.

"Ma is taking some classes at the rec center. I think she's having too much fun."

"At least she is being social, I bet it's doing her a load of good. How were DJ and Charlie?"

Darcy smiled now looking at the photos from the two weeks spent with them.

"It was fun, DJ's fiance is so pretty, I am so excited to be a bride's maid, only a few more months. Charlie's kids were adorable as usual, especially Jacob."

"You know it's wrong to have favorites," Collen reminded with a laugh.

"Okay bitch, you are practically neighbors with Kassidy, don't you dare tell me you don't have a favorite kid. She has like a billion."

"Okay bitch," Colleen repeated. "Kassidy has five kids, Ma had more than her. And I may or may not enjoy the oldest, Lisel. Still, it's wrong to play the favorites game, the other's can totally tell."

"For you maybe, Charlie's littles are too little to notice. Anyway, are you coming up for the family reunion at the end of the year?" Darcy asked hopefully.

"Jesus, that's like six months from now. If I can get someone to house sit, then yeah, I'll probably drive up with Kassidy again."

"A cross-country road trip with five kids sounds like tons of fun," Darcy replied sarcastically. Cujo whined and pushed his head against the door. "Hey sis, I'll call ya later, I gotta take the hound out."

Darcy put on her running clothes and leashed up Cujo. Together they made their way out to Central Park. After walking around for a while Darcy began her run. They jogged through the warm evening air and around the darkening walkways. The great Dane suddenly stopped causing Darcy to stumble back. He whined and his ears flattened against his head. Darcy followed his gaze and only saw a figure standing off near the pond.

Then in a flash, the leash was ripped from her hands and Cujo dashed over to pounce on the man. Darcy screamed his name and sprinted to get the dog off the guy.

"I am so so so sorry." Darcy held the bunched leash tightly in her hands. Cujo wagged his tail lazily and tilted his head to the side to watch the two. "He never does that, I swear to God. I am so sorry."

The man lying in the grass got up with a laugh. Darcy went silent as she took in his appearance. He was a beautiful man, she decided. Tall and lithe, dark hair, short beard. He too was wearing running clothes.

"Don't sweat it, my buddy used to have a jumpy dog like that," he brushed his hair back and winked at Darcy. "Billy Russo," he stuck his hand out, which she took hesitantly.

"Darcy, sorry about the dog."

"Seriously, don't sweat it. It's probably the universe getting at me for not finishing my run. You look like you were doing the same, mind if I join you?"

Darcy froze unsure of what to say, she always looked like a trashcan when running, her face turning bright red after three steps and sweat covering her like a shower. This Billy guy was full-on beautiful and looked like he could outrun her seven times over.

"I don't know…" she trailed off.

"It'll be fun, how else do you make friends? Come on." Darcy slowly eased into a jog with him. After forty more minutes, they both came to a stop. Darcy was breathing heavy and side glanced Billy who looked like he hadn't even broken a sweat.

"Thanks for being my workout buddy this evening, maybe I'll see you around." Billy winked and jogged off in the other direction leaving Darcy alone.

"What the hell just happened?" she rubbed her face and headed back.

* * *

Darcy was sitting on Karen's couch eating another bowl of ice cream. They were watching their third movie, something about a street performer in NYC with that chick from "The Office". Karen never cared for Darcy's indie romance movies, too weird for her taste.

"Why can't I get a beautiful man like that. God, look at those eyes, his eyebrows. FUCKKKKK me, Chris Messina." Darcy groaned leaning back over the arm of the couch. Karen smiled and shrugged with her spoon still in her mouth.

"You are so weird. But now that you mention it, I think you have a type."

"Really, do tell."

"Well," Karen began. "That Italian New York kind of guy. The dark hair, that nose, Frank for example." Karen was laughing before she looked back at her quiet friend. "Hey, what's the matter?"

"He's fucking gone Karen, Jesus, what's wrong with you?"

Karen immediately felt the cold shiver of guilt sweep over her. She'd completely forgotten her friend had no idea he was still kicking.

"Oh God, Darcy, I didn't mean to, I'm so so sorry. I completely, it slipped my mind."

Darcy stared angrily straight ahead at the tv. Tears blurred her vision, but she knew exactly what was going on, she'd seen the film at least a hundred times. "It's whatever," Darcy grumbled.

* * *

"Jesus," Curtis grabbed his chest in surprise. "Can you please stop sneaking up on me. It's my home, I think I deserve at least a little notice when you visit."

Frank was standing in the dark of the kitchen making coffee. He shrugged and continued his task. Curtis sat down on one of the bar stools and rubbed his eyes with a yawn.

"What are you doing here at this hour anyway?" Frank set a steaming mug in front of his friend without an answer. They both took a sip in the silence. "You can't see her, Frank it's too soon, and it's too late."

"I know," Frank muttered resentfully. "It's why I'm here."

"Were you at Karen's, was she at Karen's?" Frank took another sip ignoring the question. "Frank."

* * *

Karen sighed and embraced her friend. "I'm sorry Darcy, I honestly didn't mean anything by it," Karen paused when something outside caught her eye. Frank was standing in the darkness of the alley. He wasn't surprised, Karen always managed to find Frank.

Karen stood up suddenly surprising Darcy. She strode over and closed the blinds swiftly then turned back to her friend. "I'll just go get the rest of the vanilla." Karen then went into the kitchen.

* * *

"I didn't know she was there, I was only there to talk to Karen."

Curtis rubbed his face and then set a hand on Frank's shoulder.

"You need to stop going to Karen then. If you need something just come here, you do most of the time anyway."

Frank shrugged and finished off the coffee. He placed the mug in the sink and took the empty one from Curtis. After washing them and putting them away he put his jacket on and headed towards the door.

"Look, man," Curtis called out. "I'm serious. If you need someone, I'm here for you. Don't put those women at risk, I can take a few hits."

"No you can't, not with that leg," Frank said then closed the door.

* * *

Darcy was sitting cross-legged in front of the tombstone. Service had been held a week prior and almost no one had attended. Darcy hadn't even gone upon Karen's insistence. So, here Darcy found herself, unable any longer to keep away from the grave marker. Cujo huffed and finally settled behind her.

"Damn you," Darcy rubbed a tear from her eye and continued pulling at the grass beneath her fingers. "You scary, beautiful man."

"So you had the pleasure of knowing him too?" Darcy looked up at the tall man standing next to her. Cujo hadn't even acknowledged the new presence. Some dog you are, Darcy thought bitterly.

"Frank was something else," she laughed dryly.

"I'm Curtis Hoyle, I served with Castle a while back. Stubborn as a mule."

"Stubborn as an ass," Darcy muttered. "I'm Darcy, I was just a friend, he saved my life a few times."

"I think he's done that for pretty much everyone. Saved mine too many times to count. Without him, I would have lost more than just the leg."

Darcy's eyes flickered over to the prosthetic appendage before looking back at the grave.

"They never found his body," Curtis said softly.

"I know," she said absently.

"It makes me wonder," he paused glancing down at her. "If he is still out there."

"Maybe," she said absently.

"Pleasure to meet you, Miss Finch, I'm off to my VSG meeting," he only managed to turn around before Darcy grabbed his foot.

"I never mentioned my last name, how'd you know that?"

"Castle might have mentioned you before he kicked the bucket," he shrugged and pulled away.

"Wait," she held out a card from her purse. "I'd love to write about your support group, you know for the paper. Call me so we can set something up," Curtis smiled and nodded.

Darcy thought she was alone at last until she heard the grass crunch nearby. "Forget something," Darcy turned around. She was frozen not expecting to see him again.

"Heya, Darcy, right?"

"Billy, yeah, what are you doing here? You know Frank?" Billy sat down next to her and smiled sadly.

"Yeah, we served together."

"Really? Did you know a Curtis Hoyle, he was just here a moment ago?"

"Yeah, we were all buddies. That's funny, sorry I missed him. So, Darcy what's up with you?"

Darcy looked down at her hands and shrugged. They sat in silence for a while longer. Cujo had come over and laid against the man. Billy was dressed in a suit, a nice looking one at that. What a small world, Darcy thought. The man had broken the silence to tell her a story about Frank. He laughed a few times to himself as he was lost in the memory. Darcy smiled watching the man move his hands as he described his friend in action. It sounded like they used to be closer than just friends, almost like brothers.

They had sat together for over an hour before Billy stood up. He stuck his hands out so he could pull Darcy to her feet. "You want to go grab dinner?" Darcy blushed and after a bit of persuasion, she agreed.

* * *

"Frank, it's probably not a good idea to hang around where you're supposed to be buried." Curtis pointed out. He was further away from the grave, leaning against a tree, watching Billy lead Darcy into a taxi.

"I have a bad feeling about him."

"You're just saying that because you don't want him touching your girl."

"She isn't my girl or anyone's for that matter," Frank said as he stepped forward next to Curtis. "Billy has been low on the radar, what is he doing back in New York?"

"Got some fancy pants job with a company called Anvil. He's the one who's been funding my support group. He's not so bad Frank. I really think you should let him in on your being alive secret. You didn't even talk to him before you played dead."

Frank didn't respond, instead, he pulled his hood up and walked out of the cemetery, Curtis assumed, to follow Darcy and their old friend, Billy.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey yall, how's it going? Yeah, I've got literally no excuse besides life got hella busy and I was just adulting pretty hard. But, I miss the inspiration and the late-night writing sessions so my husband said he'd play Halo while I did my writing haha. Anyway, let's get this story back and rolling.**

 **R &R**

* * *

It's Called: Freefall by Rainbow Kitten Surprise

Called to the devil and the devil did come

I said to the devil, "devil do you like drums?

Do you like cigarettes, dominoes, rum?"

He said only "sundown, Sundays, Christmas"

Some day's end when I need a few friends

Now and again I could never hope to keep them

Thought to give friends what I thought that they wanted

Never had they needed a good friend as I've been

Don't get me venting on friends who resent you

'Cause all you've ever done is been a noose to hang on to

They thought was a necklace and reckless they fell into hell

Where you both hang with nothing to do but

Scratch, kick, let gravity win like

Fuck this, let gravity win like

You could leave it all behind, even the devil need time alone sometimes

You could let it all go, you could let it all go

It's called freefall

It's called freefall

Called to the devil and the devil said quit

Can't be bothered better handle your shit

Keep about your wits man, keep about your wits

Know yourself and who you came in with

Can I sit down I've been hustling all-day

I can't even count how many souls I've made

Off the same deal you on

Remember the devil ain't a friend to no one

But fun, true

You could let it all go, you could let it all go

It's called freefall

It's called freefall

Called to the devil and the devil said "hey, why you been calling this late?

It's like 2 a.M. and the bars all close at ten in hell, that's a rule I made"

Anyway, you say you're too busy saving everybody else to save yourself

And you don't want no help, oh well

That's the story to tell

You could let it all go, you could let it all go

It's called freefall

It's called freefall

You could let it all go, you could let it all go

Cause ain't shit free but falling out

And that shit's easy let me show you how it's like

Ain't shit free but falling out

And that shit's easy let me show you how it's like

* * *

Darcy sat at home watching the Red Socks play the Yankees in her living room. Her dad sat next to her screaming his head off. She felt guilty for liking the Red Socks more but she kept her mouth shut.

"When are you getting your own place, Darcy?" her mom asked jokingly in the kitchen knowing her daughter's true loyalties. Darcy shrugged and knew there was some real concern buried in the light-hearted question.

"Eventually, you know I don't make anything at the paper." Darcy leaned her head onto the back of the couch.

Her phone vibrated a few times, she didn't even bother checking who it was. Karen, the concerned friend, or Billy, the very inquisitive attractive friend who was starting to get on her nerves. It had only been two months since they started meeting up for dinner. She wasn't an idiot, there was another woman. He had also put up this tough fuck boy figure and had been pushing for sex nonstop. She had to catch herself from being too drunk around him or she feared he wouldn't hold back.

Darcy felt her phone and she tossed it across the carpeted floor. Cujo huffed and moved to lay on it. Good boy, she thought with a smile. It was replaced with a frown rather fast as a teaser clip from the 10 pm news played during the commercial break.

"Tonight at ten, catch the latest update on the gang murder and the possible sighting of the Daredevil in Hell's Kitchen."

Darcy rolled her eyes at the perky blonde twenty-year-old sitting at the desk which made her look like a child. Something didn't sit right with Darcy regarding the murders. She had pressed Karen with suspicions and got nothing. It had to do something with Frank, Darcy was sure of it.

After the game, Darcy retrieved her phone and went to lay in bed. She had been right to assume the two people, but it was the unknown number that bothered her. It was a local text.

Frank Castle did it.

She called the number several times, all ending in the automated line being disconnected message. She felt hot tears build up and she angrily whipped at them with her bare arms. Who had the audacity to freak her out? Before she could get up and report this message to her father, another text, a different number.

We both know he isn't dead. Just ask Karen.

* * *

She hadn't spoken to her friend in a while, distancing herself from the memory of Frank had done nothing but worsen her depression. She grit her teeth and pounded on the door. It was early and she knew that Karen hadn't left for work yet.

After a few minutes, a disgruntled and tired Karen opened the door. She seemed surprised and happy. The look on Darcy's face made her worried. She opened the door further and let her friend in.

"Tell me the truth," Darcy looked out the window not being able to face the woman who felt like a stranger now.

"Wha," Karen began but Darcy didn't let her play stupid for one moment.

"Tell me where Frank is." Karen seemed taken aback but recovered quickly with a cautious laugh.

"Are you feeling okay? We both saw a body and a funeral Darcy. You've got to be kidding me."

"Oh, I'm not fucking kidding about anything, and you've got five seconds before I have my dad's guys over here to arrest your fake ass." Darcy spun around, her face was bright red, flustered yet angry.

"I was only protecting you," Karen said softly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Fuck you and our friendship. You think that's protecting me? You don't think I can't defend myself? I can't decide for myself who's dangerous? I'm not a fucking child. Jesus Karen."

"I was protecting you," Karen insisting, her voice climbing octaves as she frantically tried to pull other reasons. "I thought he was dead too! It wasn't until I was kidnapped and almost murdered that I realized I couldn't tell you, that it was too dangerous."

"Fuck you," Darcy spat and walked out of the apartment, the door slammed and shook the building practically. She jumped in a passing taxi before Karen could stop her. She pulled her phone out and messaged the number.

Just tell me where to find him.

Darcy examined the text hard and balled her fists with frustration.

Not yet.

* * *

Darcy sat bored looking at the avid man. Billy Russo had a drink in one hand and a fork on the other. She couldn't remember why she'd agreed to dinner other than to break the news that seeing each other wasn't fun anymore.

The first few weeks had been fun, the mystery of an attractive stranger who showed interest in her. The danger of being friends with Frank was only a distant memory. It had been replaced with a sad feeling of safety and comfort missing.

She only remembered Frank as someone who could actually protect her. His strong arms and warm touch, the faint musk of gun oil on his shirt and gun powder on his hands. When he would find her in public she reminisced in the smell of sage pomade in his hair. She had gotten him a cologne as a joke, but he had worn it anytime she was around. Nutmeg and birch leaves. His presence was calming.

She was attracted to him. After the night she danced with him, she couldn't deny the strong build of his body, the sharp features in his face, and the devastatingly handsome grin. She ached to touch him again.

She mentally slapped herself out of her pity party. She hardly knew Frank more than Billy. After all, it was Billy sitting in front of her, not Frank. Frank was just a friend of a friend and should be dead. For all she knew, he might still be, Karen could be messing with her again. Darcy felt so lost, she didn't know who to believe anymore.

"Dar," Billy looked at her inquisitively. She groaned in response.

"You know I hate when you call me that. It's just Darcy. I heard you I just don't know how to respond to a question like that."

"It's just sex, it would be fun, with that rockin' bod," he whistled lowly and winked. Darcy stood up, knocking the chair back loudly. The restaurant drew quiet as people turned their attention to the anger flaring up in Darcy.

"Fuck you, I'm done, we're done," she snarled.

"We aren't even dating," Billy folded his arms and rolled his eyes.

"Exactly, and now, we aren't even friends. You're such a pig."

Darcy snatched her purse from the chair and stormed out of the restaurant. She threw her phone in the trash and hailed a taxi home.

* * *

"We just bought the newest Apple phone for you. You couldn't have just factory reset it?" Darcy's father rubbed his face in exasperation. Darcy simply shrugged and headed into her room.

Can't get away that fast.

Darcy stared at her phone now sitting on her pillow with another mysterious message.

"Nevermind dad," Darcy shouted. She then proceeded to reset the phone as her father had suggested.

When the home screen came up blank, a few seconds passed before another text. It was a simple taunt.

Is this you, Frank?

Darcy replied. The number responded negatively. She sighed and put the phone on her nightstand. She undressed and laid under the blankets. She closed her eyes.

* * *

Darcy sat next to Frank in the park near the turtle pond. She had brought her lunch and Cujo was laying in the grass just a few feet away. Frank was humming and stroking her hand as it laid flat on the blanket. Darcy's eyes were closed and she was happy. She felt his hand pause and go to grab a strand of hair.

"You cut your hair," he noted aloud.

"I did," she agreed with a small smile.

"I like it."

"I only cut a few inches, it's not like I shaved it all off or got that mom hair cut." Frank laughed and gently pushed her shoulder.

"Any other ginger family members, or just you?"

"A few of us. It usually skips a generation. What about you, anyone else a hard-ass, or just you?" She pushed Frank a bit harder knocking him onto his back.

They both were laughing. Frank stopped suddenly and cupped Darcy's cheek. The world seemed to go silent and still. Before she could move closer to him, Frank was on his feet and walking away. She sat up, hot tears streaking her now cold cheeks.

"Fuck you!" She yelled loudly after his fleeting shape.

"I'm married," he had said before he had left her that day. Darcy opened her eyes to look up at the plain white ceiling. "You have to move on," Karen had said to him the very same night. The night he had supposedly died.

* * *

Don't take your dog out today.

Darcy had rolled her eyes at the message she had gotten that morning. She was now walking Cujo down the street. The weather had gotten much chillier, Darcy wore a matching sweater that her dog had on. Twinsies! She had exclaimed at the large animal, all she'd gotten back was a grunt. Before they had gotten to the park, her heart had stopped. A man was looking down out of his car window.

"Should've been on a leash." Then the car tore away. She wanted to cry and sob and scream. Instead, she stood stupidly in the street looking at her dead companion. People were gathered around her. Someone had called the police and someone had seen the plates and reported the man. Someone else was moving her and another was moving the dog off the pavement.

* * *

How did you know that? How did you know something was going to happen? Was it you?

It was almost her birthday, several weeks had passed, several therapy sessions and even several trips to dog shelters to get her mind off of Cujo. Darcy's sisters had even flown down. Once the word suicidal was mentioned by their mom, everyone was in a panic for the baby sister.

She hadn't left her room unless with her mom, after all, her mother had been the first one to hit and run. Darcy hadn't worn makeup or dressed in anything other than sweats. Not even at work, her boss knew the situation after a chief of police had shown up to explain what had happened. No one had been arrested or even reported, Darcy had lost herself once again.

No, it wasn't me. But an old Billy had put a request out on the dark side of the internet.

Darcy didn't even know what to do with this information. She had felt bad after the scene she had made. She tried reaching out, but it was like he had never even existed. No social media, no active numbers to contact. Nothing. Somewhere deep inside of her, she knew this stranger was telling the truth.

She couldn't put her finger on what, but she knew there was something very wrong with Billy. Frank didn't just know normal people, and she suspected that it wasn't just random happenstance that they had met as they did. He had sought her out, for what reason, she didn't know. Billy Russo was an evil man, something rotting from the inside out.

Do you want to see Frank?


End file.
